Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
Early 1884
Oil paint on canvas
74 x 60 cm
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1931
Paul Gauguin painted this townscape shortly after he moved to Rouen in 1884. He was 36 years old and had recently committed himself fully to an artistic career after working as a stockbroker and salesman.
The work shows Gauguin finding his own style. In particular, the roofs, rendered in solid planes of dark blue, and the skewed perspective of the figures point to the direction his art would soon take, as he abandoned realist representation. Oskar Reinhart was unconvinced by the artist’s later work and this remained the only painting by Gauguin in his collection.